Melba Escobar is a Colombian author and journalist. Her debut Spanish-language children’s book, Johnny, the Sea, and Me, was selected for the 2015 White Ravens catalog as an outstanding international book by the International Youth Library. Escobar lives in Barcelona with her husband and two children, and writes for El País and Colombia’s El Tiempo.Elizabeth Builes is a Colombian illustrator who won the Tragaluz Illustration Award in 2013 and went on to receive worldwide recognition for the original Colombian edition of Johnny, the Sea and Me in 2015. Sara Lissa Paulson is a translator of Spanish and Latin American poetry, picture books, and middle grade fiction. Her first translation, Pablo Neruda’s Book of Questions, illustrated by Paloma Valdivia, was selected as a New York Times Best Children’s Book of 2022.

A 2025 Mildred L. Batchelder Honor BookAn Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) 2025 Notable Children's BookSelected for the USBBY Outstanding International Book List, 2025A Reading Group Choices Favorite YA for April 2025A Publishers Weekly New Noteworthy Children’s Book of July 2024A Parade Magazine Best New Book Release of the WeekThe Scripps National Spelling Bee Book Club’s Pick for August 2024One of Latinx in Publishing’s Most Anticipated July 2024 ReleasesSelected for the Children’s Book Council Spring 2024 Showcase on Transformation​STARRED REVIEW! ★ "Translator Paulson (Book of Questions) gracefully incorporates hints of magical realism from Colombian writer Escobar... Escobar’s compatriot Builes contributes delicately lined artwork to this tale, which ruminates on the healing presence of a figure who lives life on his own terms."

Melba Escobar is a Colombian author and journalist. Her debut Spanish-language children’s book, Johnny, the Sea, and Me, was selected for the 2015 White Ravens catalog as an outstanding international book by the International Youth Library. Escobar lives in Barcelona with her husband and two children, and writes for El País and Colombia’s El Tiempo.Elizabeth Builes is a Colombian illustrator who won the Tragaluz Illustration Award in 2013 and went on to receive worldwide recognition for the original Colombian edition of Johnny, the Sea and Me in 2015. Sara Lissa Paulson is a translator of Spanish and Latin American poetry, picture books, and middle grade fiction. Her first translation, Pablo Neruda’s Book of Questions, illustrated by Paloma Valdivia, was selected as a New York Times Best Children’s Book of 2022.

A 2025 Mildred L. Batchelder Honor BookAn Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) 2025 Notable Children's BookSelected for the USBBY Outstanding International Book List, 2025A Reading Group Choices Favorite YA for April 2025A Publishers Weekly New Noteworthy Children’s Book of July 2024A Parade Magazine Best New Book Release of the WeekThe Scripps National Spelling Bee Book Club’s Pick for August 2024One of Latinx in Publishing’s Most Anticipated July 2024 ReleasesSelected for the Children’s Book Council Spring 2024 Showcase on Transformation​STARRED REVIEW! ★ "Translator Paulson (Book of Questions) gracefully incorporates hints of magical realism from Colombian writer Escobar... Escobar’s compatriot Builes contributes delicately lined artwork to this tale, which ruminates on the healing presence of a figure who lives life on his own terms."